Highlands Ranch – The Class 5A Continental League is a wild, wacky place when it comes to girls basketball.
Three-time defending state champion ThunderRidge ran through Arapahoe, which thumped then-top-ranked Highlands Ranch two nights earlier, 72-40 on Thursday night at The Grizzly Den.
The Grizzlies blew open the game in the second half.
“It was hard to make sure we did everything that we needed to do in a stop-and-go game like this,” ThunderRidge senior Jayna Hartig said.
Hartig, a starter for two of ThunderRidge’s three state championship teams, came off the bench for a game-high 16 points, and freshman Brenna Malcolm-Peck hit two 3-point shots in the waning minutes to finish with 14.
Tiffany Amos scored 11 points and freshman Rachel Messer added 10, as did Hannah Breidel. Breidel, a starter and the Grizzlies’ best outside shooter, was injured with 24.7 seconds to play and her team up by 30 points.
No. 9 ThunderRidge (14-3, 5-2) muddied the already murky waters of the Continental race. Only 4A Regis, which plays a 5A league schedule, is undefeated. Highlands Ranch and Heritage each have one league loss, and ThunderRidge and Arapahoe have two losses each with two weeks left in the regular season.
No. 5 Arapahoe (14-5, 5-2) coach Ron Burgin said he apologized to his team after the game for scheduling contests against two of the state’s best teams in three days.
“Two minutes into the game I knew we were in trouble,” said Burgin, who coached ThunderRidge to a state title in 2003 before taking over for Scott Hastings this season. “Their legs were dead. It was totally unfair to my kids.”
Allie Hastings and freshman Amy Barczuk led Arapahoe with 10 points apiece.
The Warriors’ night could be summed up with one series in the final seconds of the first half.
Hastings was knocked to the floor while bringing the ball past midcourt without a whistle from the officials, and Amanda Miller took advantage by making a 3-pointer to put the Grizzlies up 33-20 at the half.
“We were doing the same stuff in the second half, but we just started to click,” Malcolm-Peck said.
Arapahoe 10 10 8 12 – 40
ThunderRidge 14 19 20 19 – 72
Arapahoe – Hastings 3 3-5 10, S. Barczuk 0 0-0 0, A. Barczuk 2 4-4 10, Hentschel 0 0-0 0, Ka. Denning 1 6-10 8, Hancock 1 1-3 4, Ke. Denning 0 0-0 0, Moore 1 0-0 2, Durkin 0 1-2 1, Kenna 2 0-0 4, Mattoon 0 1-2 1. Totals 10 16-26 40.
ThunderRidge – Evans 0 0-0 0, Breidel 3 2-2 10, Luedtke 0 0-0 0, K. Hartig 1 0-0 2, Amos 2 7-10 11, Messer 2 5-6 10, J. Hartig 5 6-7 16, Miller 2 0-0 6, B. Malcolm-Peck 5 2-2 14, Dederick 1 1-3 3. Totals 21 23-30 72.
3-pt. goals – A. Barczuk 2, Hastings, Hancock; Breidel 2, Miller 2, B. Malcolm-Peck 2, Messer. Total fouls – Arapahoe 23; ThunderRidge 26. Fouled out – A. Barczuk; Evans, Luedtke. Technicals – None.
